REALLY going to Fier

Friday was site placement day, and I am going to Fier! When many people think of the Peace Corps, they may think of volunteers working in small, rural African villages. Well, wipe that idea from your mind! I’ll be in a city of 80,236 people in a NATO country vying to be part of the EU.

I am slowly learning about Fier. It is only 2-2.5 hours from Elbasan, which is where I live now. My host family is excited because I won’t be too far from them. This way, I can come visit and they can visit me! (They are SUPER-excited for Peter to potentially visit and stay with them. By the time Peter makes it, I will hopefully know more Shqip and will be able to communicate better!) Anyway, Fier is in the Southwest of Albania. (Here, I was one of the few not scared of living in the colder North, and I was placed in the South). It is supposedly the most important industrial city in the country and is one of the biggest municipalities. It is 12km from the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Apollonia.

I will be working in the Bashkia (city hall) in Fier in the Department of Designing Policies and Developing Strategies. A current Community and Organization Development (COD) volunteer is finishing up her service there. Supposedly, she has been a GREAT volunteer, so there is a little bit of pressure to live up to her work. Hopefully, I am ready for it! The town also has a TEFL volunteer, finishing up his first year, so he’ll be a site mate. Also, another Group 13-er will move there with me! She is a Health volunteer. Actually, we were roommates that night in Philadelphia for staging, so I find it funny that she’ll be a site mate for the next two years! Since Fier is such a big place, I don’t know how close we’ll be to each other, but I’m excited to find everything out!

In other news, my 4 satellite site mates came for dinner on Saturday. Xhuli and I made chocolate chip cookies again (Xhuli is learning quickly!), and I made mashed potatoes (potate amerikane). Mamai cooked byrek me fasule (or a bean pie), pula (chicken), buke (bread), and sallate (salad). There were a few awkward silences due to a lack of English/Shqip understanding, but all in all, it was a good time! I can’t remember if I mentioned that my house is a bit farther from the others. Therefore, it was especially nice to have them come over, and they all liked the view from the balcony! Here is a picture of Gjushi (grandfather), Xhuli, and my 4 site mates in the inside kitchen. We all played Uno with Xhuli. Xhuli is a huge fan of the game, and I am glad I brought it. Even Eri, at age 18, likes to play, but when he plays, for some reason each game lasts at least 30 minutes.


In other-other news, I have had a cold. I skipped out on a culture day because the last thing I wanted to do was get others around me sick. My host family thinks I got sick because I took a shower with warm, not hot water. Luckily, I’m doing fine Ok now, though.

And finally, I got some letters from some of you. I CANNOT tell you how HAPPY they made me! Thank you for thinking about me, reading my blog, and sending your best wishes.